Ultrathin W18O49 Nanowires with Diameters below 1 nm: Synthesis, Near‐Infrared Absorption, Photoluminescence, and Photochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide

Open vacancies: A facile one-pot synthesis of oxygen-vacancy-rich ultrathin W18O49 nanowires up to several micrometers long is described. In addition to unique optical properties, such as NIR absorption and blue-light emission, the nanowires show an unexpected ability to photochemically reduce carbon dioxide to methane (see picture) as a result of its defect structure caused by large quantities of oxygen vacancies.